Facing a breakaway was a tough reintroduction for goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in his first game with the Detroit Red Wings in more than three months.
The St. Louis Blues got one by Nedeljkovic on the first shot he faced Thursday at Little Caesars Arena, when he was called to enter the game with the Wings trailing by a goal. The Wings wound up losing, 4-3, falling for the 11th time in 14 games over the past month.
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The Wings looked like they were going to build off the 3-2 shootout victory they came away with two nights earlier in St. Louis, racking up two goals in the first 88 seconds of the game. But the Blues cut the lead to one, and then scored three unanswered goals in the second period. The one that made it 4-2 was by Jake Neighbours, whose breakaway marred Nedeljkovic’s first appearance at LCA since Nov. 30. It was the only goal Nedeljkovic gave up on nine shots.
The Wings pulled Nedeljkovic for an extra attacker with more than three minutes to play, and the gamble paid off with Alex Chiasson scoring with 2:16 to play.
Goaltending woes
With Ville Husso dealing with a nagging lower-body injury, Magnus Hellberg started for a second straight game. Hellberg gave up a goal to fourth-line forward Alexey Toropchenko midway through the first period, on a shot fired from the blue line. Brayden Schenn made it 2-2 when he scored from just outside the crease, and Sammy Blais likewise scored by being in front of the net, at 12:40 of the second period, to put the Blues up, 3-1. That goal, on the Blues’ 13th shot on net, prompted the Wings to pull Hellberg in favor of Nedeljkovic, who was called up earlier in the day from the AHL. It was Nedeljkovic’s first NHL game since Dec. 8, after his struggles (4.09 goals-against average, .880 save percentage) landed him on waivers, and then the minors.
One to remember
Simon Edvinsson, the No. 6 pick in 2021, made a third appearance since being called up last week. He was in the starting lineup — which was nice, given his parents and brother were in the stands for one last game before being scheduled to return to their native Sweden — and earned his first point in the opening minute. Edvinsson, with a reach that reflects his 6-foot-6 frame, fired a shot on net that deflected in off a Blues player and past Joel Hofer. Edvinsson has stood out for how involved he’s been both with the puck and physically, a good sign he’ll be with the team full-time starting next season.
Too Blue
Jake Walman was next to celebrate; the former Blues player picked up his eighth goal of the season on a wrist shot from the left circle. David Perron, who has played for the Blues three separate stints and won the Cup with them in 2019, assisted. During a timeout, the Wings played a brief welcome on the Jumbotron recognizing the former Wings now wearing blue and gold: Nick Leddy, goaltender Thomas Greiss (who was backing up Hofer) and Jakub Vrana, the offensively gifted forward who the Wings dealt at the trade deadline for a seventh-round pick.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.